Jim Fagan
The joint was jumpin’ when Noosa Chorale, the Australian Jazz Ensemble and vocalist June Garber took audiences back to the ’20s and ’30s last Thursday and Saturday at the J with All That Jazz.
It was jazz at its smokiest, speakeasy best and had both enthusiastic packed houses echoing to calls for more with the singers and musos obliging with two encores.
Along with the Tinbeerwah Art Group, the Chorale and Noosa Heads Jazz Club are celebrating their 30th anniversary this month and the two concerts last week were the opening notes for the 11-day Noosa Jazz Festival which continues until August 30 with jazz sessions in Noosa restaurants, hotels, ferries and The Majestic at Pomona.
TAG’s art show, The Joy of Music, is also open at the J until the end of the month.
MC was Noosa Mayor Frank Wilkie who congratulated the three groups saying, “High quality cultural and arts events play an important role in connecting and enriching our community and this is something they have been doing since 1994.”
He promised a “heady, entertaining show of fabulous songs made famous by legends like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jnr, Louis Armstrong, Liza Minelli, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and other amazing talents” and the entertainers delivered.
Chorale guest conductor Paul Coppens was particularly happy. After the Saturday performance he said the singers showed enthusiasm, dedication, and above all, a great sense of enjoyment which spilled out to the audiences.
One of the choir’s songs, Cosy Corner Café, had the unusual distinction of having the composer in the Saturday audience. James Simpson was in Brisbane in 1987 when he wrote the song and later he had this to say to Paul: “Well done! Great show. Thank you for my moment of fame. I had a wonderful time.”
The concerts were called All That Jazz and the line-up of the Australian Jazz Ensemble – names well known to Noosa fans– was Brett Iggulden (trumpet and saxophone), Christopher Ludowyk (trombone), Paul Williams (clarinet and saxophone), Ian Date (guitar), John Reeves (accordion and piano), Calvert Duffy (drums and wash board) and John Conley (bass).
Former Canadian vocalist June Garber now living on the Sunshine Coast and whom Frank rightly described as having a “luscious” voice was in a word “stunning” with her three songs, particularly the jazz classic, The Birth of the Blues.
The Noosa Jazz Festival wraps up this weekend after a week of great music and great weather, especially for our interstate and New Zealand visitors.
There are still some seats available for the Noosa Jazz Party events at The J theatre on Friday and Saturday nights, and the popular free jazz concert at the Lions Riverstage, Gympie Terrace is on again on Father’s Day.
Details at www.noosajazzclub.com.
